Northern Command, FEMA Control

The Pentagon's Northern Command says it's getting ready for the now-Category 4 Hurricane Rita. Or more specifically, it's "prepared to meet Requests for Assistance that the Federal Emergency Management Agency may issue prior to and in the wake of Hurricane Rita." In other words: We're there, but if anything goes wrong, it's FEMA's fault.

Update, 3:01 p.m.: AP has this from FEMA's acting director, David Paulison:

Paulison said the federal response to Rita would depend "much more heavily" on the Pentagon and the National Guard than it did initially for Katrina. But he said the biggest difference in comparing the government's response between the two storms would be stepped-up communications among state, local and federal authorities â€" which was riddled with problems when Katrina hit.

"Stepped-up communications"? That makes it sound like they just didn't make enough phone calls. There weren't any working phone systems to make calls on, or radios, or ways to charge batteries without any electricity. Not to mention many of the local officials who might do the communicating were literally swamped themselves. Is the communications infrastructure and disaster plan in Galveston so much better then in New Orleans that it could handle the effects of a massive storm surge? I have my doubts.